Arizona Knows What's Good

Cave Creek author Stephenie Meyer appears in Twilight, the movie, for less than 60 seconds. Watch for her: She's the pretty brunette ordering a vegetarian plate at a diner. She's so easy to miss, and to think that she's the real star of this show.

Meyer, 34, is the creator of the Twilight universe, a series of books that has sucked the nation into a tale of teenage vampires and their love woes. Meyer's four-volume saga has sold 10 million copies. The books spent all year on the best-seller list and even knocked Harry Potter off its lofty top spot.

The film version of the first book hit theaters in November, with fans camping out in full vampire regalia and teenagers vowing to see the film over and over again.

It has been a big year for Meyer, who also released her first piece of adult fiction, The Host, an alien love story set near Picacho Peak north of Tucson. The book promptly hit the best-seller list and stayed there. She appeared in People and USA Today. Entertainment Weekly devoted its cover to the Twilight tale. Her book tour for Breaking Dawn, the fourth Twilight volume, was a ticketed event and sold out across the country. She's starting to get recognized at the grocery store and at Target, much to her chagrin.

These days, Meyer is hunkered down in Cave Creek spending time with her husband and three sons. She is focused on what her fans want most: more, more, more. She's trying to hide out and duck the limelight - she even declined Vanity Fair. We wish her luck. After all, she's a movie star now.